Learn How Diabetes Affects Eyesight

Diabetes not only increases your appetite, thirst, and causes more frequent urination. It can also affect people’s eyesight.

Each time your blood glucose level is out of control, you may experience blurred or loss of vision. Once your blood sugar stabilizes to a healthy level, your vision should return.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is an illness that stents from diabetes. When a person has diabetic retinopathy, they experience blurry vision and distortion of images. This is the result of damaged vessels not providing enough blood to the retina. Then, these vessels become damaged in response to consistently high blood sugars. The retina is the innermost layer of your eye.

There are nearly 200,000 cases of Diabetic retinopathy in the US every year. Ages most commonly affected include those over 41 years old. The next most common age group is the 19-40 age group, although some children get this condition at the early age of 6. It may last for years, or even a lifetime. Maintain it by taking healthy measures with your eating and exercising choices. Keeping your blood sugar as controlled as possible and can prevent damage to your retina that could become severe and lead to blindness. If you are experiencing floaters, blurriness, dark areas of vision, and having a hard time perceiving colors, you may have diabetic retinopathy. And, if your child is seeing spots and impaired color vision, take them to a doctor to have them evaluated for diabetes.

Staying Healthy & Monitoring Your Diabetes

If you have diabetes, it is important to properly control your diabetes. Maintain healthy blood glucose levels by taking your insulin as needed. If your levels get too high or too low, negative effects can occur. These results include bleeding or swelling in the retina

If vessels close off, there is a reduction in oxygen supply resulting in poor vision.

Avoid ruptures when new vessels are growing in the optic nerve, retina, or vitreous humor. If there is damage and a rupture, bleeding in the vitreous humor will occur. That can be very dangerous. If the swelling does not go down after a few hours, you will need to see your eye doctor. Diabetic macular edema will need injections for treatment.

Cataracts & Other Solutions To Your Eye Problems

As time passes, diabetics are also at a higher risk of developing cataracts with old age. Cataracts may require removal by your eye doctor if the problem is serious.

Other solutions to eye problems caused by diabetes include laser coagulation or surgery, as well as vitrectomy. Medications recommended by the Mayo Clinic include blood vessel growth inhibitors and steroids.

Yearly Exams

As a diabetic, make it a habit of seeing your primary care physician once per year and having a dilated eye exam every year. Specialists include ophthalmologists and optometrists. If you do not get the exam and have uncontrolled diabetes, the blood sugar levels could wreak havoc on your overall health and especially cause poorer, blurred vision. Lucas Research is having clinical studies now for those with diabetes. Sign up today to volunteer!